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Hey guys, so I'm going to go into a bit of detail explaining the background, because I think it matters.

I applied to a job with a great company that I was truly excited about. ~2 weeks later I get an email from a recruiter from them (not an external staffing agency recruiter) with a couple questions. I put alot of time into answering them well and reply within a few hours with an email. The next morning, I get a call from the recruiter and answer more questions on the phone. ~2 weeks later I get a call to schedule an on-site interview.

They make a mistake, forgetting to send me information about the exact details of the interview. I remind them the day before the interview, they apologize and send me the information.

I have been on ~5 interviews before this (since graduating) with a success rate of 2/5. I learned from previous mistakes, and I know I gave my best performance so far at this interview. I prepared for this interview well, unlike many past ones. I had three interviewers. Based on my own self assessment and from the person's mannerisms/language, I'd rate my performance as 8/10 with the first person, 9/10 with the second, and 7/10 with the third.

In other words, I'm fairly certain I didn't do/say anything that made me totally fail the interview. Also, several things happened by accident that I think have helped me. I did things in the past, that I had on my resume, that (at the time) I didn't think would help much for a science career, but for this particular job and this particular company, I think they demonstrated I have the same values, or share the same goal, as the company.

They give me a timeframe for when to hear back. The earliest part of the timeframe has not arrived yet.

The day after the interview, I decided to send a follow-up email to let them know I'm still interested. I could not find two of my interviewers' emails after searching for a while online (they didn't even have a LinkedIn account). I decided to just call the general company's phone number and see if they could give me the emails.

I get transferred to someone and the person offers to transfer me to one of my interviewer's secretaries to get her email, but suggests waiting until Monday because they may have left for the holidays already. Now here is where I made a slight mistake...

I may have come off as slightly rude when I didn't mean to be. I followed the advice and said, Nevermind then, I'll just call Monday. Thanks bye." and hung up. He was still speaking when I hung up...". I really didn't mean to come off as rude.

The person I spoke to, which I realized immediately after hanging up, was actually one of the two recruiters I interacted with (only to schedule the interview). I could tell by his voice, and he must have known who I was because I said I interviewed yesterday. I have never seen any of the recruiters in person by the way.

Within 30 seconds I get this email from my OTHER recruiter (not the one I just spoke to). This was the recruiter that did the initial phone screening questionnaire. The subject line was "Interview Status".

"Dear Alex,

We sincerely appreciate your interest in applying and participating in the interview process for the job of Research Associate. We encourage you to continue to visit our Career web site and apply for positions that match your qualifications.

In the meantime, please accept our best wishes for continued success in your career endeavors.

I mean...it looks as if someone took a form rejection letter, copy and pasted it, then removed the sentences saying something like "we will not be proceeding with your application, after careful consideration".

I guess I could just call them to ask, but don't want to come off as annoying, impatient, or insinuate that they can't write clear emails.

I don't think that a little impatience from your side on the phone has cost you that job offer. They probably felt that you are desperate to hear their decision and that's why they sent it so quickly. Anyway, you already have other offers as far as I understood from your post. Go with one of these or focus on future opportunities. It's no use crying over spilt milk.To answer your question: yes, I think that this is a rejection letter.

I have gotten several opinions...they all said it's a rejection. Am I crazy for not seeing that it is a clearly a rejection? Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't a rejection letter state that the person was rejected?

This letter states, "We encourage you to continue to visit our Career web site and apply for positions that match your qualifications." I should add that I KNOW I'm competing against at least one other person. Possibly they interviewed like 5 other candidates...this sentence alone from him doesn't necessarily show me that I didn't get the job. It could be that they will still be interviewing others, and in case I don't make the cut, start applying for other jobs now. But it is a bit odd thing to say to a strong candidate who is likely to get the job.

The second sentence says, "In the meantime, please accept our best wishes for continued success in your career endeavors." Meantime and continued are slightly odd words for a rejection letter.

I'm having a hard time seeing that this letter means I have no chance, as opposed to it meaning, "You may have a chance. We are still interviewing others and will decide later. Please wait."

I got a rejection letter once before too. It said this, "Dear My Full Name,

We have reviewed your application for the position of Lab Tech I (location of job) and want to thank you for the interest you demonstrated in (company name). However, after careful consideration, we have decided not to proceed further with your application.

Please continue to review our website for other opportunities that may interest you. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Sincerely Yours,

(Human Resources, Name of company)"

After getting this one, I instantly recognized what it meant. Not so for this email (one in question). In fact, the one in question looks like this except except the first paragraph is removed.

It's clearly a rejection letter for the job you interviewed for. But, they are polite and nice and want to leave the door open in case other positions fit you. It's really quite clear -- back down and don't embarrass yourself with the company.

Dave

"One of the most powerful networking practices is to provide immediate value to a new connection. This means the moment you identify a way to help someone, take action." - Lewis Howes